Filled with rage, Silva's Aura spikes as he rushes forward at Alex, his killing intent enormous, his Aura overflowing with malice and fury.
"Silva!" Zeno yells, but quickly has to turn around as Chrollo uses the opportunity and appears right beside him, his cloak almost able to envelop the old assassin.
Zeno barely manages to dodge and immediately flees to put some distance between himself and Chrollo, trying to cling to his former combat strategy.
Good... the old man is taken care of.
Alex's cards fly directly at Silva, shooting forward like arcs of light. Silva confidently decides to merely raise his arms in defense, intending to block them just like that. They hit him in the same order Alex conjured them: 10❤️ K♦️ A♦️ Q❤️ J♠️. The heart cards possess a larger chance to crit, the diamond cards have an increased chance to cause bleeding and penetrate into objects and targets, and the spade cards do more damage and carry a more powerful impact.
All cards hit Silva head-on, whose face twists in pain and surprise as the metallic cards slash at him, some burying themselves into his arms.
You have dealt 21 damage to Silva
You have dealt 25 damage to Silva
You have caused bleeding (right forearm)
You have dealt 23 damage to Silva
You have dealt 20 x 3 = 60 damage to Silva
You have dealt 35 damage to Silva
That's satisfying... this feels great! Like daggers flying forward.
Despite the heart card, for example, doing 20 base damage plus 10 times 6, in addition to Alex's skills and AURA increasing the damage, thus having the potential to deal way over 100 damage, Silva's defenses are incredible, and with his masterful use of Aura, which he controls instinctively, the total damage is massively reduced. Still, all five cards combined are now embedded in his arms, or having cut them, which caused them to look extremely mangled and bloody, creating a truly gruesome sight.
Bullseye! That's what you get for underestimating me. These cards were quite powerful, after all. I'm starting this with a heavy advantage.
At almost the same time, Menchi's grenade explodes, engulfing Silva. Some of the shrapnel actually bounces off him, while other pieces merely draw blood. However, the main explosion and the fire do seem to affect him, as his hair is partially burned, before he shakes his head, extinguishing the flame.
Still, despite taking the damage, most of it to his forearms and chest, Silva relentlessly charges forward, a sudden surge of Aura engulfing his hands as two large balls of energy appear, just as he is about to reach Alex.
"COME ON!" Alex yells.
Feeling the urge to flee, Alex roars loudly, partly to project confidence, but also partly to energize himself.
He activates Release Rage, uses Sealion's Icewing Embrace, and raises his shield, bravely meeting his opponent head-on.
Release Rage activated
You have lost 120 HP
STR and AGI + 22 for 11 seconds
Alex then forcefully slams his shield forward, now a mixture of fire and ice, against Silva, who, just before making contact, releases both balls of energy, aiming them directly at Alex.
Fuck this!!! Barrier!
Relying on his Luck, skills, and will, Alex twists his body and swerves to one side, evading one of the two monstrous balls entirely.
He meets the other one head-on with his shield held forward.
Feeling an incredible explosion and energy engulf him, all his thoughts race in excitement, his body filled with adrenaline as his Sealion's Icewing Embrace and Barrier shatter under a single wave of damage, yet, miraculously, still block most of the damage and impact.
Sealion's Icewing Embrace broken
You have received 57 damage (Partially blocked by barrier)
Somehow maintaining his momentum, Alex smashes his shield into the shocked Silva's face, who, despite his injuries, tries to punch it away.
Silva, with his incredible strength, actually manages to muster enough force to stop Alex's charge dead in its tracks, his fist shaking in pain though as the flames and spikes make contact with it.
Still, despite getting stopped, Alex's lips curl into a devious smile as he reads the following notifications.
You have received 0 damage (blocked)
You have dealt 14 damage to Silva
Life Drain activated:
You have dealt 40 damage to Silva
You have recovered 40 HP
His mind filled with the rush of battle, partly in reaction to Silva's extreme murderous intent and rage, and partly because of his own evolving character, Alex feels the madness of battle taking hold of him. While embracing part of it, Alex still focuses hard not to do anything reckless.
"I'll drain your entire life!" Alex yells, slashing at Silva, who dodges to the left, confused by what just happened, his face looking paler and paler.
However, at the same time, Menchi appears with a devious glint in her eyes and stabs both of her knives into Silva's back.
Groaning, Silva kicks at her, only for Alex to deliver another skilled combination, smashing his shield into Silva, briefly stopping him before slashing into his chest.
You have dealt 9 damage to Silva
You have dealt 46 damage to Silva
Silva has lost 1% of his maximum resources
Menchi immediately returns, resuming her attack, not hesitating in the slightest as she mercilessly circles around Silva, always aiming for his back yet again.
The multiple exchanges happen with such force that Alex himself is surprised to see Jewel descending from the top of the hall. Only by sheer coincidence does he notice her red eyes glittering in the darkness, as she's right above Silva.
"SILVA! ABOVE YOU!" Zeno yells, trying to help his son despite his own desperate battle against Chrollo.
Alex and Menchi briefly glance at each other and attack Silva at the same time, stopping him from fleeing.
Blizzara Sword!
Alex's sword glows with frost magic, his [Nimbus Cloak] granting him extra speed, and Alex once again sprints forward, shield raised.
"DAMN YOU, COWARD!" Silva roars, creating a lethal claw with his huge hands, resembling a thick broadsword, and stabbing it at Alex's [Skullflame Shield R2].
I need to risk it all; I can't allow him to destroy my shield. Ko!
Using Ko to fill his shield with all of his Aura, it withstands Silva's stab as the metal screeches painfully, the claw-hand sliding off it, unable to puncture it, yet already regaining his balance to try again.
However, instead of panicking over the force of the attack and the next one about to follow, Alex smiles, unable to believe his luck.
You have received 0 damage (blocked)
You have dealt 7 damage to Silva
Life Drain activated:
You have dealt 40 damage to Silva
You have recovered 40 HP
Menchi also attacks from the back, this time feinting to strike his back before switching to his neck, only for her to perform a double feint, actually quickly ducking, stabbing both of her knives into his leg, before rolling away, her nimbleness incredible, allowing her to successfully engage in hit and run tactics.
With Silva completely distracted again, Jewel finally acts, pulling down a huge wet cocoon made out of web, filled with copious amounts of liquid, onto Silva, whose entire upper body is now surrounded by it.
Jewel has dealt 6 damage to Silva
Jewel has poisoned Silva (partially resisted)
Jewel has dealt 7 damage to Silva
Jewel has poisoned Silva (partially resisted)
Jewel, he's mostly immune to poison... though he's still taking damage, the shadow-damage component of your poison seems to be working, keep it up!
Desperate, Silva finally flees, the cocoon still over his face, gambling for an opening between Alex and Menchi, despite not being able to see. He successfully escapes, but the poisoning is worsening every second, though still not dealing too much damage.
Jewel has dealt 8 damage to Silva
Jewel has poisoned Silva (partially resisted)
However, as Silva tries to rip apart the cocoon soaked in poison, an explosion suddenly goes off.
Jewel has dealt 71 damage to Silva
Jewel has dealt 26 damage to Silva
Jewel has dealt 5 damage to Silva
...
Jewel has dealt 4 damage to Silva
Jewel has crippled Silva (Right eye)
Jewel has crippled Silva (Nose)
Jewel has crippled Silva (Ear)
❤️
Not celebrating, Alex immediately continues his assault, focusing on casting a Fira spell, using his sword as a conduit and thus raising its potency as he directs it at Silva, instantly following it up with his left hand and firing a Warp at him as well.
Breathing heavily, Alex stares at him, his spells just about to land, until the older assassin appears behind them, Zeno's Dragon Lance pushing against both Alex's spell and Biotic ability, causing them to explode preemptively and shielding Silva.
Zeno's face looks pale as he inspects Silva's horrible wounds, the result of being mercilessly triple-teamed by Alex, Menchi, and Jewel.
Gotta rile them up even more. I need more craziness, more chaos! Calm, logical decisions are their forte! I need to drag them into the muddiest part of hell... if hell is muddy in the first place.
"Are you running away... perhaps I should focus on your family members next..." Alex says, smirking. "That would be fun... try to run..."
Jewel, I'm going in for the big one.
Alex stops and begins to glow with Orbal Energy as he starts channeling Hydro Cannon, choosing to burn through 160 MP, a large part of his total reserves.
Jewel, before Alex's Art can activate, sprints around to the right, shoots a string of web towards the ceiling, and then charges a Hidden Power (Dark) while swinging, targeting them from the side. However, Zeno skillfully controls his Dragon Head to block the wave of energy, using it as a shield as he wraps it around his body.
Menchi, reacting quickly, also approaches from the left, ready to strike, causing Silva to take on a fighting stance, despite his wounds.
At the same time, to everyone's surprise, two large bone-like Nen fish suddenly appear behind them and rip into both Zeno's and Silva's shoulders, tearing off large chunks of flesh.
What the... Chrollo!
As Alex charges his ability, he sees Chrollo right next to him, looking as calm as ever, a faint hint of pity in his eyes.
"I would have loved to play around with them by myself, but alas, Alex, time for a deal: kill the big guy, but let me try to steal the old one's Hatsu," Chrollo whispers, standing right next to Alex, who's still charging.
"If you can... go ahead," Alex mutters, "I'll try to knock him out."
Finally, Alex unleashes Hydro Cannon, only for Zeno to roar as his Dragon Head grows in size and shoots out a pure beam of devastating energy.
Oh fuck!
To Alex's horror, both abilities clash against each other.
In the end, Alex feels his own Art barely lose out and raises his shield to block whatever is left of Zeno's attack, which, thankfully, isn't much. He manages to block it just fine, his shield an absolute bulwark, withstanding the blast with only a little bit of durability loss.
Having burned through a lot of MP without result, Alex is annoyed, but as he looks at Zeno, who is breathing heavily, he smiles.
He burned through his Aura instead... also Silva...
Looking at Silva, who is breathing heavily, one eye closed, blood flowing out of it, while his face and entire body are bleeding, Alex can't help but smile in satisfaction.
He won't last much longer. Even he couldn't deal with a three-on-one.
Chrollo, Alex, Menchi, and Jewel gather on all four sides, with Silva and Zeno trapped helplessly in the middle, slowly walking forward to box them in. Chrollo's fish, meanwhile, float just above them, ready to strike at any time.
❤️ Struggling Peasants are so much fun to deal with...
Princess Jewel wonders... who should she kill first?
Will the Peasants even know what hit them?
Jewel, stop playing around; we need to focus.
Also, Jewel's thoughts float through the air, audible to anyone, her voice incredibly sweet, with a hint of childishness. However, far more disturbingly, Alex notices a faint trace of pure malice within it, which, by the looks of it, even manages to affect Zeno and Silva, who, despite their experience, show a hint of something akin to recognition, their senses warning them to avoid the spider.
Regardless... Princess Jewel will enjoy tearing the two Peasants apart. ❤️
S̸̱̓i̵̠̊ḻ̵̅é̶̝n̶̘͝t̸̼̋l̸̏ͅy̵̭̅.̷͎͒.̶͎̓.̴̻̊ ẗ̶̞́̈̑͝h̴͕̦̠̦̬̉͊ŏ̷͙̬r̸̢͈͔͓̲̅͋̀ō̵͖̝͌ú̸̞͔̾͐͐͛͝ǵ̸͙̀̐̚h̴̘͙̅̀̚͝ḷ̵̀͑̀̃͝ẙ̵̹̭̇̒̈̂̚... m̸͎̖̠̠̜̳̞̘̽̓̍̚͜e̶̙͖̋̀̋r̴̨̧̳͈̤͚̦͚̜̪͑̉̿̿͋̈̋̾c̵̱̦̜̪̖̫̖̆͑̈́̔̐̚͝͝͠ĩ̵̡̡̛͇̱̯͙̦͊̕͝l̴̝͇̩͙̦̙͎̼̗̖̀͋̐̅̆͑͝e̷̥͈̓̿̒̐s̴̬̱̫͖͆͊̒̐̆̌̃̑s̵̫̘̼̒́͑́̀̔̃͛l̴̪͍̾͗y̵͔̗̖̦̍̇... ❤️
Ḑ̸͈̹̹͎̳̺̺͚̯̓̆͆̇̎̔́̐̕͝I̵̥̺̱̝̖̋͑͌̅̏͗̂͝Ê̴̡̨͚̱͎͓̮̙͜ͅ!
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